Whitney & The Star Spangled Banner

My children and their friends were born after the height of Whitney Houston’s popularity, so they have little knowledge of her meteoric career or wonderful voice. I’m hardly a huge fan, but her rendition of the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl is something everyone should be familiar with. I had forgotten the context of the event, with the US having recently entered the Persian Gulf War. Like many young students, I’ll copy and paste (and credit) Wikipedia:

With America entangled in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27, 1991. Due to overwhelming response to her rendition, it was released as a commercial single of her performance, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached No. 50 in 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund.

Her rendition was considered the benchmark for singers and critically acclaimed. Rolling Stone commented that "her singing stirs such strong patriotism. Unforgettable." The performance ranked No. 1 on the 25 most memorable music moments in NFL history list. VH1 listed the performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV. Following the attacks on 9/11, it was released again by Arista Records, with all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. This time it peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Later in 1991, Houston put together her Welcome Home Heroes concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk, in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch…giving HBO its highest ratings ever.

The Wikipedia page is full of other charitable good works, that most people never knew about.

Its fitting that Houston is now compared to Elvis and Michael Jackson. But unlike these male megastars, Whitney hadn’t sheltered herself within a Graceland or Netherland Ranch. Therefore her decline and subsequent drug-related death could resonate and impact louder. Perhaps in the future the families and handlers of celebrities with substance-abuse problems will be more proactive in reaching out to help. Perhaps.